Surviving the Heat: Tips for Staying Cool and Safe

[jtbell]

We haven't had many really sizzling days (>100F) so far this summer, but we've had a lot more days >90F than usual. Sometime during the past week one of the TV weathermen in Charlotte (somewhat north of us) commented that they had 44 days at >90F so far this summer, compared to a normal 20 or so. And we haven't even reached August yet, which is normally the hottest month of the year.

 

[Evo]

I just read that cooler air is heading to the NE.

From weather.com

Drier conditions should build in from northwest to southeast as a cold front pushes through. Once the front passes by the showers and thunderstorms should come to an end.

Behind that cold front northern New England, most of New York and western Pennsylvania should have a nice afternoon. Mostly clear skies, low humidity and pleasant temperatures are expected through week's end.

 

[turbo]

I hope! The weather-man has been promising us a Canadian high for some time now, and it never materializes. Just more humid ozone-laden crap from the south and west. I have never been through a hotter summer than this. I have a lot of outside stuff to do, but it's just not happening.

 

[brainstorm]

Trick to appreciate summer heat: imagine it is a freezing winter and you're getting all the free heat you want.

Tip#2: desensitize yourself to the heat by keeping your indoor thermostat set to as high a temperature as you can tolerate. The more you can raise your comfort zone, the less extreme the outdoor temperature will seem in comparison.

 

[Danger]

I hope! The weather-man has been promising us a Canadian high for some time now

Are you referring to "BC bud", or still discussing the weather? If the former, remember to take no more than 2 hoots and put it out. Any more than that, and you will be severely messed up.

 

[turbo]

Trick to appreciate summer heat: imagine it is a freezing winter and you're getting all the free heat you want.

Tip#2: desensitize yourself to the heat by keeping your indoor thermostat set to as high a temperature as you can tolerate. The more you can raise your comfort zone, the less extreme the outdoor temperature will seem in comparison.

I spent over 20 years in the pulp and paper industry, with 4 years as a process chemist in a pulp mill, and 6 years as the lead operator of the world's most advanced (at the time) and probably hottest paper machine. I spent another 10 years or so as a consultant/troubleshooter on paper machines and boilers and steam systems all over the east and southern US. I have managed to cope with extreme heat! Now I have respiratory problems, though, and I can't tough it out like I used to. When you can't breathe, nothing else matters much.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I like heat, but... holy ****! I'm quite comfortable at anywhere from -30 to +40, but holy ****! 85° will boil the eyeballs out of a rhinoceros. Is there even an area on this planet, aside from volcanic vents, that ever achieves that temperature?

Fahrenheit dude. Fahrenheit

 

[VeeEight]

Fahrenheit dude. Fahrenheit

Sounds like he took more than 2 hoots

 

[brainstorm]

I spent over 20 years in the pulp and paper industry, with 4 years as a process chemist in a pulp mill, and 6 years as the lead operator of the world's most advanced (at the time) and probably hottest paper machine. I spent another 10 years or so as a consultant/troubleshooter on paper machines and boilers and steam systems all over the east and southern US. I have managed to cope with extreme heat! Now I have respiratory problems, though, and I can't tough it out like I used to. When you can't breathe, nothing else matters much.

Well, your respiratory problems might be due to actual physical causes but I think many people's are psychosomatic. Usually, I take the fact that people react defensively against my suggestion to acclimate as an indication that they have some intense psychological aversion to having to deal with temperature discomfort. Some people probably have no choice but to air condition at a level low enough to prevent them from health problems, but that is actually a detriment to them, I think, insofar as it sensitizes them to warmer temperatures - which could result in a stronger reaction in the event that their a/c breaks or they are otherwise unable to get access to cool air-temperature.

If you live on a boat, it's a good idea to practice swimming - and similarly if you live in an area where temperatures can get into the 90s or above, it is a good idea to practice acclimating to as little a/c as you can stand. I've been doing this for a number of years and I don't really become uncomfortable indoors until @90F. I do use fans, though, to keep the air moving. Outside I can comfortably bike or walk anywhere in the 90s.

 

[Danger]

When you can't breathe, nothing else matters much.

Roger that, big time. My epidermis loves the heat, but colder air provides a denser intake charge (ie: more oxygen per inhalation).
Hell of choice there: breathe and freeze or choke and bake.

 

[brainstorm]

Roger that, big time. My epidermis loves the heat, but colder air provides a denser intake charge (ie: more oxygen per inhalation).
Hell of choice there: breathe and freeze or choke and bake.

According to this graph, http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ls=en&biw=1233&bih=852&tbs=isch:1&um=1&itbs=1 , the density of air only decreases @5% between 80 and 90. That seems to be equivalent to increasing your altitude by @500m according to this graph: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ls=en&biw=1233&bih=852&tbs=isch:1&um=1&itbs=1

So maybe it is lack of oxygen that causes some people to get winded climbing a mountain instead of their just being relatively out of shape?

 

[Danger]

So maybe it is lack of oxygen that causes some people to get winded climbing a mountain instead of their just being relatively out of shape?

Certainly. It's the same reason that aircraft require oxygen equipment if they are going to exceed 10,000 ft in altitude. (That was the law when I was flying; it might be different now.)

 

[Evo]

So maybe it is lack of oxygen that causes some people to get winded climbing a mountain instead of their just being relatively out of shape?

At lower mountain altitudes, it's both. My company sent a few of us to a one week getaway at a posh mountain resort. While the rest of us had no problems running up stairs, my boss, a heavy smoker, would have to stop and try to catch his breath.

Climbing at much higher elevations will require added oxygen for people that are not acclimitized.

 

[xxChrisxx]

What's next? The dead rising from the grave? Dogs and cats living together?

Damn it, I want to watch Ghostbusters now.

 

[brainstorm]

Certainly. It's the same reason that aircraft require oxygen equipment if they are going to exceed 10,000 ft in altitude. (That was the law when I was flying; it might be different now.)

Air density at 10,000ft is 75% what it is at sea level, according to this chart:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...98AbsqpCSAw&page=1&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

I can't find a good graph of how much density air loses between 85 and 95 but I can't imagine it is anywhere near 25%. I exercise moderately at 95F without any shortness of breath. Hopefully someone can provide a better estimate of how much density is lost between @80 and @95F to get an idea of how much suffering is caused by oxygen shortage and how much is just stress resulting from discomfort (which of course can be extremely traumatic, even though it is psychosomatic).

Additionally, I think there is a compounding effect of stress on overheating because stress raises core-temperature, which increases the need to dissipate heat, which dissipates slower in warmer surroundings, which adds to the stress. So the corollary of that would seem to be that averting heat-discomfort stress should reduce core-heat and prevent the need to dissipate excess heat, which occurs too slowly anyway. In other words, keeping your cool under the stress of heat may pay off in terms of reducing body-heat production. Stressing about low oxygen levels probably wouldn't help the situation.

 

[hamster143]

Hopefully someone can provide a better estimate of how much density is lost between @80 and @95F

If you can treat air as an ideal gas, since absolute zero is -460 F, the answer is 15/(80+460) = 2.8%.

But the air you breathe will probably come into thermal equilibrium with your body by the time it reaches lungs, so the real effect may be much lower than that.

 

[Danger]

But the air you breathe will probably come into thermal equilibrium with your body by the time it reaches lungs, so the real effect may be much lower than that.

That is true for most people. One of the reasons for having such convoluted nasal passages and sinuses is for pre-heating air in winter to protect the lungs. I, however, have to breathe through my mouth, so there is very little of that effect.

Brainstorm, you present some interesting and potentially valid points, but they also don't apply in my particular case. My total lung capacity (both of them together) is somewhere around 1/4 litre, which is a tad less than that required for an Olympic athlete, so every microlitre of oxygen that finds its way in is important to me. I definitely notice an improvement due to lowering temperature, as long as it isn't too cold, and I assure you that it isn't psychosomatic or stress-related. (And I'm willing to bet that if you pay close attention, you will notice that your car shows increased power in chilly or foggy weather for the same reason. In fact, a cold-air induction system or water injector is considered a performance-enhancing modification.) I'm not suggesting that your reasoning is flawed; merely that it doesn't apply in all cases.

edit: I just discovered that "total lung capacity" has a specific medical definition which doesn't coincide with the way in which I used it. I meant that I can "process" only about 1/4 litre per breath. The other peculiar thing about emphysema is that most of the difficulty lies in exhaling.

 

[brainstorm]

That is true for most people. One of the reasons for having such convoluted nasal passages and sinuses is for pre-heating air in winter to protect the lungs. I, however, have to breathe through my mouth, so there is very little of that effect.

Brainstorm, you present some interesting and potentially valid points, but they also don't apply in my particular case. My total lung capacity (both of them together) is somewhere around 1/4 litre, which is a tad less than that required for an Olympic athlete, so every microlitre of oxygen that finds its way in is important to me. I definitely notice an improvement due to lowering temperature, as long as it isn't too cold, and I assure you that it isn't psychosomatic or stress-related. (And I'm willing to bet that if you pay close attention, you will notice that your car shows increased power in chilly or foggy weather for the same reason. In fact, a cold-air induction system or water injector is considered a performance-enhancing modification.) I'm not suggesting that your reasoning is flawed; merely that it doesn't apply in all cases.

edit: I just discovered that "total lung capacity" has a specific medical definition which doesn't coincide with the way in which I used it. I meant that I can "process" only about 1/4 litre per breath. The other peculiar thing about emphysema is that most of the difficulty lies in exhaling.

I always hate these types of exchanges because it seems like it is somehow necessary to validate your position despite mine. It seems like this has gotten very popular since green politics has become widespread. It's like for every person coming up with good ideas to promote greening, there are many more who find it necessary to find excuses to justify less green lifestyle choices. Personally, I do some things that are good for greening or for my health, but I do others that are bad for me or environment. I know I should change my less green or less healthy habits but I'm not going to make excuses for them. They are what they are.

Again, I'm not saying that you're making up your lung condition or that it's an excuse. I just don't like listening to so many excuses and having to sort out the honest ones from the BS. For every one person with a true health problem, there will be many more who claim to have a problem as an excuse to justify running their a/c at a lower temperature, etc.

What I was trying to point out in another post was just that acclimatizing your body to cooler temperatures by spending more time in climate control, or setting the a/c at a lower temperature causes you to feel relatively hotter when you go outside. This increases stress, which raises muscle tension and generates more body heat. As your body heat rises even more from stress, your body has to sweat more to cool down, which further increases your discomfort - especially if you stress about your perspiration. So it makes sense that people who are more acclimatized to warmer temperatures not only feel cooler during hot summer days, but also sweat less or at least not as profusely. I perspire more or less constantly, but usually at a very low level unless I am physically exerting myself in the sun without wind to cool and dry my skin.

 

[Danger]

I always hate these types of exchanges because it seems like it is somehow necessary to validate your position despite mine... ...For every one person with a true health problem, there will be many more who claim to have a problem as an excuse to justify running their a/c at a lower temperature, etc.

What I was trying to point out in another post was just that acclimatizing your body to cooler temperatures by spending more time in climate control, or setting the a/c at a lower temperature causes you to feel relatively hotter when you go outside.

It appears that there has been a bit of miscommunication. I was not thinking in terms of air conditioning, or using it as a crutch at the expense of the environment. A/C is not something that one will normally find in a Canadian home. In fact, my furnace came on a couple of times last night.

 

[turbo]

Again, I'm not saying that you're making up your lung condition or that it's an excuse. I just don't like listening to so many excuses and having to sort out the honest ones from the BS. For every one person with a true health problem, there will be many more who claim to have a problem as an excuse to justify running their a/c at a lower temperature, etc.

I hope you never develop emphysema or COPD. When you can't breathe, nothing else matters.

 

[brainstorm]

It appears that there has been a bit of miscommunication. I was not thinking in terms of air conditioning, or using it as a crutch at the expense of the environment. A/C is not something that one will normally find in a Canadian home. In fact, my furnace came on a couple of times last night.

Well, if you suffer from a health condition where it would potentially save your life, a/c might not be the worst prescription. It's a pain if you're not used to hot outside temperatures at all and then get hit with a heat wave. I live in a hot climate and am used to listening to people complaining about summer heat when they have to venture outside of the climate controlled universe.

I hope you never develop emphysema or COPD. When you can't breathe, nothing else matters.

Who would wish that on anyone? Like I said, a/c is not a crazy prescription when you're sick. Less radical of an intervention than an iron lung I would say.

 

[B. Elliott]

This is what I see on a daily basis here in Guam. The weather here literally never changes. Good in some ways, but I'm definitely missing the falls and winters and could do without the humidity.

Mostly Cloudy
81 °F
(27 °C)
Humidity: 84 %
Wind Speed: E 9 MPH
Barometer: 29.89"
Dewpoint: 75 °F (24 °C)
Heat Index: 87 °F (31 °C)
Visibility: 10.00 mi.

 

[Danger]

Something else just came to mind, perhaps because it's very evident at the moment. Turbo might not have noticed this effect because he's somewhat temperate (aside from his hellacious pepper-based recipes). It is at least 3 times easier for me to breathe when I'm drunk. It isn't an excuse for my alcoholism, since that was in place before I contracted COPD, but it gives me a good incentive to drink excessively. I don't know whether it's due to relaxation of my chest muscles, blood-thinning, dilation of blood vessels, or what... but it is a very real effect. I am up to my *** in Scotch, and am breathing easier and more effectively than I have in the past six months (without using any of my inhalers). It seems that a Scotch drunkenness works, whereas my usual beer-swilling doesn't.

 

[brainstorm]

I am up to my *** in Scotch, and am breathing easier and more effectively than I have in the past six months (without using any of my inhalers). It seems that a Scotch drunkenness works, whereas my usual beer-swilling doesn't.

Just don't inhale the Scotch!

 

[heusdens]

{Drum roll}

It's so hot that it makes me want to take off my skin, and sit in my bones...

Don't do that it makes you actually hotter, cause your skin at least releases some fluids which then evaporate to keep you a bit cooler.

 

[Evo]

Make it stop! I can't tolerate heat. I break out in huge red welts, and I stop perspiring. I get very sick.

It's only been average temps, but everyday is at the average temp, which means it's hotter on average. Right?

 

[heusdens]

Make it stop! I can't tolerate heat. I break out in huge red welts, and I stop perspiring. I get very sick.

It's only been average temps, but everyday is at the average temp, which means it's hotter on average. Right?

Right. So, act now against AGW! if you can't stand the heat, don't contribute to global warming.

 

[Evo]

Right. So, act now against AGW! if you can't stand the heat, don't contribute to global warming.

AGW=Overpopulation. I only had two children, so I've done my part towards zero population growth.

 

[lisab]

Make it stop! I can't tolerate heat. I break out in huge red welts, and I stop perspiring. I get very sick.

It's only been average temps, but everyday is at the average temp, which means it's hotter on average. Right?

Seattle, this summer: mid 50s and foggy in the morning, sun breaks out noon-ish and it's 75 by 5:00. You'd be welt-less here.

 

[brainstorm]

AGW=Overpopulation. I only had two children, so I've done my part towards zero population growth.

But did you castrate their father and at least 50 other people to prevent further breeding:) That's a joke, btw.

About the heat problems - there was a 99F high a couple days ago and I didn't find my 1hour bike commute that bad. It helps to acclimate if you have the opportunity. Moving to the tropics can help. I feel bad for people in Cyprus, though, 115 was a record there last week, I heard.

How relative is temperature? Do you think acclimatization to a cooler climate can cause people to face greater danger at lower temperatures than those acclimated to higher heat? What could your body possibly do to adapt to high temperature stress except stay calm?

 

[Evo]

Seattle, this summer: mid 50s and foggy in the morning, sun breaks out noon-ish and it's 75 by 5:00. You'd be welt-less here.

I want to move there.

 

[brainstorm]

I want to move there.

Commuting through 40F rain is only better than oppressive heat if you have weatherproof transit.

 

[turbo]

Currently over 90 deg F with dew point over 70. Nasty, and tomorrow will be more of the same.

 

[turbo]

Well, here it is near the end of August, and another sunny day in the 90's. I have never experienced a summer like this. Between the excessive heat and the drought, we are at severe risk for forest fires, and wells are running dry. My drilled well is limping by, but the pump for the dug well cavitates before it can get the pressure tank up to the targeted shut-off pressure.

This has to be the hottest, driest summer on record for this state. Dairy farmers who have been getting their butts kicked by regulated (low) milk prices are watching their hay crops and silage crops wilt and die. I know a few locally who are in trouble already, and if they have to buy mid-west grain at current prices to keep their milk-producers alive throughout the winter, they may go under.

 

[brainstorm]

This has to be the hottest, driest summer on record for this state. Dairy farmers who have been getting their butts kicked by regulated (low) milk prices are watching their hay crops and silage crops wilt and die. I know a few locally who are in trouble already, and if they have to buy mid-west grain at current prices to keep their milk-producers alive throughout the winter, they may go under.

This reminds me of something I heard once about certain castes in Hinduism being allowed to slaughter and eat beef under drought conditions. I don't know about the validity of the source, since it was hearsay and I read nothing myself, but it did make sense to me at the time that the prohibition on beef slaughter would work as a protection against dairy shortage, but that it would make sense to go ahead and slaughter the beef rather than allowing the cows to dye of thirst/famine. Of course, that is a different dynamic when there is hay to out-source but the cost is high. I guess it would all come down to weighing benefits against costs, and how much you like the cows and don't want to slaughter them - nevermind the value of dairy-cow beef would probably be relatively low.

 

[turbo]

(snip)...nevermind the value of dairy-cow beef would probably be relatively low.

That's another factor in the lose-lose these farmers are facing. The value as beef for human consumption is quite low, unless they can sell the cows to a butcher willing to mis-brand them. The value of a proven milker is only high as long as the farmer can keep her properly nourished to keep production up. In normal years, that entails feeding hay and silage including alfalfa and chopped corn, as well as *some* grain. This winter all the native silage will be in very short supply, and farmers who can't afford to make up the shortfall with hay and grain bought from out-of-state sources will have some very hard choices to make. For certain, some herds will have to be culled to reduce overhead, while keeping the potential for future production viable. It won't be pretty.

 

[nucleargirl]

you guys are so lucky its hot where you are... here the summer seems to have gone for good this year - its freezing and I'm wearing 2 jumpers... and shivering.

 

[turbo]

you guys are so lucky its hot where you are... here the summer seems to have gone for good this year - its freezing and I'm wearing 2 jumpers... and shivering.

I'd gladly wear a sweatshirt if I could. It is costing nearly $150/mo to keep this house livable in this heat. I don't know what my electric bill will look like for August, with A/C, and the cost to run a 1hp pump to keep my garden alive. It will be cheaper than losing the produce, but it still won't be a welcome expense.

 

[turbo]

The forecast is not good. We are lined up for temps into the mid-90's every day until maybe Friday-Saturday, when Earl may soak us. We have had one rainy day since early June.

I hate it when I'm walking Duke and I see cigarette butts along the road-side. Don't those idiots realize how dry it is, and how devastating a wild-fire could be? All for the convenience of not having to stub out the cigarette and put the butt in the ash-tray... Morons!

 

[nismaratwork]

I just fermented sourdough bread in 15 seconds by showing the starter the temp on the thermometer. It's that hot.

 

[mugaliens]

I've been working on several projects at my parents' house, usually outdoors in the heat. It's been near, if not above 90 most days this month.

 

[turbo]

I have one final load of firewood to split and stack (1-1/4 cord load) and it's just been sitting there in the driveway for weeks. There is no way I am going to roast in the sun in 90+ deg weather to split and throw wood. I stay a whole year ahead, so there's no real hurry. I'll get the wood taken care of and tarp it for the fall, winter, spring. This winter's firewood is already in the shed. When you get a lot of oak in your loads, it's best to use this long-term approach - that stuff cures VERY slowly.

 

[lisab]

It's not even 60F today, and rainy. I have my fireplace on...it's chilly, and it's still August!

Not too unusual though. Here in the Seattle area we get summers like this one from time to time. I've been here for ~22 years and we get these cool, wet summers about every 5 years or so.

 

[Evo]

It's not even 60F today, and rainy. I have my fireplace on...it's chilly, and it's still August!

Not too unusual though. Here in the Seattle area we get summers like this one from time to time. I've been here for ~22 years and we get these cool, wet summers about every 5 years or so.

It was 94 today. And it rained.

 

[nismaratwork]

Really, it's going to be freakin' September 1st, and 95 degrees here! That makes me so sad...

 

[Evo]

Whenever we hot a hot summer, we have an excrutiatingly cold winter.

 

[rootX]

It is cold and wet :(, 55°F

 

[turbo]

Another day with temps topping out over 90. It's only 88 now with high humidity, under light overcast with barely a breeze. That might all change tonight. I'd love to have some drenching rains, but I don't want Earl to come ashore heading north with heavy winds. The trees here are heavily stressed already, though many of them have lost a lot of leaves and may be able to handle a bit more wind as a result.

 

[Office_Shredder]

We had lots of rain the past two days and now the temperature's down from the 90's with 80% humidity to the 70's with 50% humidity. Thank god

 

[Evo]

Same here, it's a perfect fall day, if it was fall.